Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Sixty-Eighth Report - Local authority administered COVID support schemes in England
Public Accounts Committee
HC 1234
Published 6 September 2023
Conclusions (3)
1
Conclusion
Rejected
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Business and Trade (the Department) and HM Treasury about local authority-administered COVID-19 grants for businesses in England.2
Government Response Summary
The government explicitly disagrees with the committee's recommendation, stating that a single precise definition for basic control in national emergencies is not appropriate given the varied nature of such events.
7
Conclusion
Rejected
We pressed witnesses about the absence of basic controls in the early schemes, and the level of consideration that had been given to how quickly these controls could have been put in place.9 DBT told us that the level of speed involved was “almost inconceivable”, but accepted that early in …
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the committee's implied recommendation for a single definition of basic controls in emergencies, arguing that HMT adapts controls proportionately and that existing spending frameworks provide sufficient flexibility while retaining accounting officers' responsibilities.
19
Conclusion
Rejected
The first wave of grant schemes in spring 2020 were largely untargeted. They account for around half of the £22.6 billion eventually provided to businesses under these schemes over the pandemic.38 HM Treasury told us the amount paid out in the first wave was very large; it was fiscally very …
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the committee's implied recommendation, stating that a single precise definition for the basic level of control in national emergencies is inappropriate due to varying circumstances. It affirms that established spending frameworks apply, with Accounting Officers responsible for expenditure, but flexibility is necessary to tailor responses to specific emergencies.